Tampa Bay at Carolina Panthers Betting Preview

Before the season kicked-off nobody would have guessed that the Carolina Panthers win record after week four (1-3) would read the same as their Monday Night Football opponents the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. However, that’s the situation we have as these divisional rivals face off with the Panthers taking the spoils on the last six occasions.

The Bucs scored just seven points in a defeat to the Broncos last week as QB Jameis Winston struggled again, throwing three interceptions; something the Carolina defence will surely have taken note of. Furthermore, Tampa star man on defence, Gerald McCoy looks set to miss his second game in a row.

The big question for the Carolina Panthers is whether Cam Newton will be fit to play after coming off with concussion in last week’s crushing defeat to the Atlanta Falcons. It's not often a doctor clears a player to return from such an injury after one week so the Panthers will be preparing replacement Derek Anderson as starter. He came in last week and played well, throwing two touchdown passes before an interception right at the end when they were trying anything to score.

Anderson is vastly experienced and is one of the better back-ups in the NFL, he shouldn't have a huge deal of trouble dealing with this Bucs team though. At home and against a rival they usually beat we expect the Panthers to bounce back, and a winning margin of 13-18 is our pick.